Postal workers tell Canada Post No, No, No to claw back demands
The Give
Last week the employer presented the Union with a proposal on Unaddressed Admail. CPC proposed some additional time values including a new outside time value for the most affected routes. They proposed to structure Letter Carrier routes using a weight of 30 pounds per relay stop for combined Lettermail and Unaddressed Admail and eliminate the current values for weight. According to management about half of the routes would actually lose values but on average a letter carrier route would gain values of approximately one minute per day for unaddressed admail. Management plans to partially subsidize the cost of this extra minute by lowering the per piece payment to 2.2 cents from 2.3 cents for some sizes. Immediately after their presentation CPC distributed a Team Leader’s Update so that supervisors could inform CUPW members about their offer.
The Takeaway
The next day CPC tabled contract language for another demand. This demand was for the elimination of the five minute wash-up periods for all employees.
You Do the Math
The net loss of time values for full-time letter carriers would be 9 minutes per day. All other workers would see their workdays be extended by 10 minutes. The loss of 9 minutes per day per letter carrier would result in the elimination of approximately 450 full-time positions. Many hundreds of positions in Groups 1, 3 and 4 would also be eliminated.
CPC did not issue a Team Leaders Update on the job loss due to their proposal to eliminate the wash-up periods.
More and More Demands For Concessions
| Employees Hired After Date of Signing | Current Employees | |
| Half hour paid meal | None for the first 10 years 10 minutes after 10 years 20 minutes after 20 years 30 minutes after 30 years |
No change |
| Five minutes wash-up period | No wash-up period | Eliminate as of date of signing |
| Vacation leave | 3 weeks to start 4 weeks after 10 years 5 weeks after 18 years or service 6 weeks after 28 years of service |
3 weeks to start 4 weeks after 7 years 5 weeks after 14 years 6 weeks after 21 years |
| Eliminate 7th week of vacation for anyone with less than 28 years of service. |
These employer’s demands are insulting and show what kind of «recognition» management has for the workers who have made CPC profitable for 16 years. Your negotiating committee will be pushing back on the employer’s demands and the membership needs to turn up the heat and let the employer know that we will not accept reduced benefits and the elimination of so many jobs. Postal workers have worked hard and we deserve our share.
As a result, CUPW has written to Canada Post saying this is a totally unacceptable position
March 16, 2011
Mark MacDonell
Chief Negotiator
Canada Post
2701 Riverside Dr Suite N0060
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0B1
Sir:
CUPW has read the Corporation’s global offer submitted on March 15, 2011.
This global offer is totally unacceptable. It doesn’t even provide a valid basis for discussion. Unfortunately, the Corporation’s positions are likely to lead to a labour dispute as opposed to a settlement. Nevertheless, CUPW hopes that the Corporation will be more realistic in the coming days and that it will be possible to reach a tentative agreement without having recourse to a work disruption.
However, in recognition of the severe impact a work disruption would have on our members, in the event that this were to occur, CUPW will have to reassess its demands to offset any loss suffered by its members as a result of the labour dispute.
While we are hugely disappointed with CPC’S positions, CUPW will continue to negotiate and will spare no effort to achieve a collective agreement that meets the needs and aspirations of its members.
Denis Lemelin
National President and Chief Negotiator